COMING SOON: Guardians of The Galaxy

The following piece was written by Alice Rosso prior to the release of the first Guardians of the Galaxy trailer. While there is a Trailer Talk review is available, you may still read and enjoy these thoughts that were had ere the preview’s release.

—D. Alexander, The Editor

Finally, comic book lovers the world over can rejoice! This year, in approximately seven months, Marvel’s latest powerhouse will be released. I’m talking about Guardians of the Galaxy, a film inspired by the 2008 version of the comic book series created in 1969 by the hands of Arnold Drake (text) and Gene Colan (pencil art).

The Guardians are an odd bunch of superheroes, known for having their headquarters in the brain of an almighty, primordial entity. They represent the last stand against the aims of an evil race of aliens, known as the Badoon, as they attempt to conquer the entire Milky Way.

The movie, directed by James Gunn, will contain a high quality cast. The protagonist, the orphan astronaut Star-Lord, will be interpreted by Chris Pratt. Zoe Saldana is the fit and agile Gamora, the last of her species. Bradley Cooper will lend his voice to the anthropomorphous Rocket Raccoon, an expert in weapons and military strategy. To play Drax, the destroyer, no one is more qualified than the wrestler-actor Dave Bautista. And, finally, the talking tree Groot will be brought to life by Vin Diesel.

The official synopsis of the movie’s adaptation is misleading, suggesting words like “cliché” and “cheesy.”

In Guardians of the Galaxy, the adventurous Peter Quill (Pratt) is being chased after stealing a mysterious and magical sphere. This object is the target of a hateful villain, Ronan the Accuser, who Quill tries to evade by forming an alliance with four very peculiar outsiders (Rocket, Groot, Gamora and Drax). But, when Peter discovers the true powers of the sphere, the Guardians will have to fight a desperate battle to save the galaxy.

Even if the story seems like a typical space adventure and, the thing that can save Guardians of Galaxy from fading into oblivion, as many comic book films have, is its special and unique characters.

Our saviors are not super hot-bond-smart-sexy gods come to rescue the occasional damsel in distress. Instead, we are given creatures, monsters even, with human emotions and feelings. That is a very positive thing to find in a movie, allowing us to relate more to the characters since they are outsiders in search of where they fit in the universe. This change of perspective can be not only a fresh new breeze in the wasteland of this genre but also a winning strategy to deliver a movie that’s well-performed, entertaining, funny and, most of all, original.

All the judgments and criticisms are yet to come. We’ll see what happens when the first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy is released.

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